Welcome

Not being a musical artist with a career to build, I do not fully understand the necessity of always paying for music. However, there are a great number of reasons artists and labels worldwide ask that fans pay for their music. As MusicUnited.org remarks, "Stealing music is against the law. Stealing music betrays the songwriters and recording artists who create it. Stealing music stifles the careers of new artists and up-and-coming bands. Stealing music threatens the livelihood of the thousands of working people—from recording engineers to record-store clerks—who are employed in the music industry." According to this website, which obviously advocates on the side of the industry, paying for music is crucial to the livelihood of emerging and even existing performers. Record sales bring in millions of dollars for bands; free downloading sites and burning CDs takes away a great deal of profits from such artists.

On the other hand exists the argument that free music is a good thing, for both the people and the artists, especially emerging ones. Many believe, and even television shows and artists have explained the dismal cuts that are made from record sales to big-time producers, managers, etc., and how little money actually reaches the artist himself. These same folks argue that by attending shows and buying merchandise at these shows, one may better support that artist or band financially. Also, in regards to new artists, free downloads are essentially free advertising. Let's face the facts: most people who see an unknown band's CD in a record store or on iTunes are not going to take the bait and dish out money for something they may not enjoy. Allowing listeners to download free music is what can truly begin a fan base for an artist. People get to hear your sound, and decide whether or not they will want to support the artist through buying CDs and attending shows.

The music industry is a rough world, no matter who you are. The money can be big, and often takes a long time to see. For artists who do strike gold, they should allow their fans to at least get a free song or two. For emerging artists, any publicity is good publicity; free music seems to be the most logical way to get into the ears, minds, hearts, and eventually wallets of the people.

Well, hello. My name is Rebekah Carter, Bekky for short. I hail from the sleepy town of Northborough, Massachusetts. I once had a LiveJournal and then an OpenDiary back in the summer of 2001, right before entering high school. It truly was the cool thing to do back then. I'm not sure how much time I will be able to dedicate to this journal, but I hope it is enough to satisfy the class expectations. As for interests and activites, I'm just getting settled here at ol' Bentley College. I haven't joined any clubs and I've quit all my past jobs to go to school. But here are some things about me: I have an obese cat named Casey; I played field hockey for seven years; I have a 1996 Geo Prizm (so classy they no longer make them); I love to act, and have performed in the Boston Globe Drama Festival for the past three years in high school, and won some acting awards for our original scripts and performances; I love good coffee (like Starbucks and other organic/gourmet coffees); I worked as a barista this past summer for a gourmet restaurant/store, and now love espresso machines; I like big calendars that you keep on your desktop so I can always see what I need to do (and hopefully still remember). As for IT 101, I feel that this class will be fun as long as we continue to do activities like this, since it allows me to add my own personal flavor and ideas. Learning about computer systems and such is boring to me, mostly because I do not understand it and the computer language that goes with it (every IT prof that has spoken to my class has left me feeling less and less able to understand what is going on). I like to make PowerPoint slideshows and I haven't made a website in years, so these activities should be decently fun.

That's really all for now. I need to do some Sociology homework.